HOUSE
OF DIFFERENCES

Topics: Conflict; Cooperation; Diversity; Love; Marriage; Self-centeredness; Stubbornness; Submission

References: Ephesians 5:25–33; Philippians 2:3–4; Colossians 3:18–19

Castleward, a stately home, was built in the 1760s about thirty miles from Belfast, Ireland. The original owners of the house were Bernard Ward, the first Viscount of Bangor, and his wife, Lady Anne.

One of the most striking features of the house is its two styles of architecture. The rear of the house is built in Gothic style, while the front is neoclassical. It’s built that way because Bernard and Lady Anne could not agree on one style. Not only did they differ in their architectural preferences; they apparently had other differences, because Lady Anne eventually walked out of the marriage.

Depending on your point of view, the house is either a celebration of diversity or a monument to stubbornness.

—Alan Wilson, Nyon, Switzerland